Stephen King Box Office Bomb Finds New Life As Global Streaming Hit 4 Years Later

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A Stephen King story has become a big success on streaming services, even though it didn’t do well in movie theaters four years ago. There have been many adaptations of King’s work recently, both in cinemas and on streaming platforms. One example is IT: Welcome to Derry, which proved very popular on HBO Max with its first season.

In 2025, several Stephen King adaptations are scheduled for release, including The Life of Chuck, The Running Man, The Long Walk, The Monkey, and The Institute. Although not every adaptation has been a critical or commercial success, they’ve generally done well on streaming platforms. Additionally, HBO Max will be releasing a Stephen King film from 2022 that’s been gaining renewed attention.

According to FlixPatrol, the movie Firestarter is currently the fourth most popular title on HBO Max globally. It’s only behind Sleepless, the live-action How to Train Your Dragon remake, and One Battle After Another, starring Leonardo DiCaprio, which is in the top spot. Firestarter premiered on May 13, 2022.

Currently, “Firestarter” is popular in 20 countries around the world. It’s the most-watched movie on HBO Max in the Bahamas, Belize, and Haiti. However, in the United States, you can find “Firestarter” on Netflix. On HBO Max in the US, the “Twilight” movies are the big hit, with all five films trending nationally.

The 2022 film Firestarter isn’t currently among the top ten most popular movies on Netflix in the United States. Currently, the romantic comedy People We Meet on Vacation, adapted from Emily Henry’s novel, holds the number one spot. Critics haven’t been impressed with Firestarter, giving it a low score of just 10% on Rotten Tomatoes.

Viewers weren’t much more impressed with Firestarter, giving it a 47% audience score. The movie, based on the Stephen King novel, earned $15 million worldwide in theaters. However, with a production budget of $12 million, it needed to make between $24 and $30 million just to cover its costs. Ultimately, the film resulted in significant financial losses for the studio.

In the movie Firestarter, Zac Efron plays Andy McGee, a man worried about his daughter Charlie’s dangerous ability to control fire. Charlie, played by Ryan Kiera Armstrong, is a pyrokinetic, meaning she can create and manipulate fire with her mind, but she struggles to control her powers when she gets upset.

A film version of Firestarter first came out in 1984, starring Drew Barrymore. A sequel miniseries, called Firestarter: Rekindled, followed in 2002. Now, a new adaptation of Firestarter is gaining popularity as a streaming success worldwide.

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2026-01-16 18:30